Just how do you blog?

You have a good start as an author website.

Since I write nonfiction, I am not the one to advise much on blog content for fiction. Although, I would post less on the process of writing and more on your characters, stories, or extras. If I were looking at a fiction novel author site, that is what I might seek.

One quick observation- you have a spelling error in your book blurb on the main page from your sig link- I believe you mean "begins" instead of "beings".

That and it took so long for the other pages to load that I gave up (but it could have been a wix thing, although I have seen weebly/wix sites load fine with my Internet before).

I am doing a "lifestyle" blog, I write about my life and interests. For me that's my faith, my family and my love of fiction. It gives me tons of topics to write about, so I'm not limited to just literature. Check out other blogs and figure out which ones you like. Lots of bloggers are great about helping newbies. Once you figure out your niche find groups that have the same passions and learn from the bigger bloggers. I have gone from dreading creating a blog to loving it, it can be really fun! Good luck to you!

Your blog came up instantly on my system. It looks OK to me. I especially liked that the sample looked close to printed format. Though I'd lessen the indentation to about half.

I prefer WordPress.com for my site. To see how a blog might look on that platform & how quickly it displays click on my sig. Keep in mind that WP has over 200 free "themes" or looks & you can customize most of them even further to get just the appearance you want.

The look however (as long as it's legible) is less important than its content. I suggest blogging at least once a week, but no more than three times. Keep the blog short; if it needs to be long put it in the static (rarely changing) part of your site & in the blog part include an intro & a link to the long form.

I'd also suggest blogging about matters important to you, and only rarely about your writing. Your possible fans will likely also be interested in the same matters, which will show up in your books over time. A web site which is just PR is not likely to get much readership.

I'm a playwright and I like to focus my blog, for the most part, on the Arts, arts advocacy, theater in education, etc. But once in awhile I dip into a book review or whatever. just kind of whatever is on my mind.

Honestly, I'm unsure. However for mine I am writing short stories based on the world my noval takes place. I am taking the characters and writing small interactions. I am hoping it will introduce readers to the world, my writing, the characters, and overall make them question the story. All these introductions mixed with questions, maybe it will entice the reader to want to read the book...but only time will tell. And I need more followers, which I'm still trying to figure out how to find more.

Bloo & Kessar, both of you seem to pursuing a successful path. But remember that however you promote a blog (Facebook, Twitter, participating in other blogs, etc.) it takes time. A year or two usually to get a good start.

Don't be discouraged if you get only one or three new followers each month. Most blog platforms let followers easily drop out of a blog that bores them. If those 1-3 followers stay they are listening to you, they are engaged. When your books come out they will be first in line at the bookstore & willing to praise your books to their friends.

Which is how most books gain an audience. Publishers may spend a lot of money on PR for a promising book, but word-of-mouth will trump that many times over.

A lot of writers put up "blog" pages, but seldom interact with commenters, or lock out comments entirely. Since the entire purpose of a blog is to interact, I'm guessing they, or whoever helped them, knew some blogging software better than how to set up a static web site, since I've seen businesses using blogs as web sites...

If you chose to make an interactive blog you need to say something occasionally. Even if it's talking about your goldfish.
Otherwise it's just a web site, even if it's running on blog software.

Whichever way you go, you need basic business information:

* who you are
* what you write
* what you've already written - a bibliography, with publication dates, ISBNs, etc
* what you're working on, and approximately when it will become available
* where to buy your books
* contact information of some sort for you or your agent if you have one

A surprising number of author sites and blogs fail more than one of those.


In general, people who hit your site will be looking for information specifically about you or your books. Your customers are *already there*; you don't need all the fancy artwork, Flash movies, Javascript, or other doodads site builders use to try to grab a surfer's attention. You have already have their attention; anything that slows them down while they're trying to find the information they're looking for is just an annoyance.

I am having the same problem. First book is coming out late this year, and I haven't made a website. I do have a tumblr with 3K followers, but I know I need an "official author website" as well. I understand everything about how to set it up aside from what to blog about.

They say to blog about things related to your brand, but I write a lot of different stuff. This first book is a coming-of-age summer romance, and I'm currently writing a tragic love story and a thriller. They all have a lot of different elements.

I feel stupid because I actually write blogs for a living, but I have a total block when it comes to doing it for myself. When I look at most blogs, they are talking about things happening with the book, but if the book hasn't come out yet, how should I get the thing started?

Sorry for not adding anything helpful.

1.Make sure to visit other blogs
2. Make encouraging comment to your fellow bloggers
3. Wordpress has a class called Blogging University 101 that is helpful

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/courses/blogging-101-zero-to-hero/